Earlier this week, we were fortunate enough to welcome two NDB alumni, Quinlyn Highsmith and Brooke Nightengale, back to our class to talk to us about their chosen field– genetic counseling. This was a very unique experience, and one I will not soon forget. Whenever you research or hear about different professions, you often only hear about the basic ideas and broadest summaries of what it really means to do that job. Having Brooke and Quinlyn, who are both at very different places in their journeys, come talk to us gave me so much more of an in depth understanding of what being a genetic counselor truly entails.
Both of their individual talks held contained very different information, but I found both equally as interesting and valuable. Quinlyn was the first to talk to us. She is still in college and is just now applying to graduate programs, meaning she was in our shoes just a few short years ago. Because of this, I found her perspective on college and finding what you want to do with your life particularly interesting. One of the things I found most noteworthy out of all the things that she discussed was how to find internships and shadowing spots. She recommended starting on google, but at some point recommended simply sending out emails to anyone who will take them, and seeing who responds. I have never had a problem reaching out to people, but that would likely not even be something that I would think about on my own. I would spend hours and hours searching google and filling out applications for highly competitive spots, rather than reaching out directly, making myself stand out, and bettering my chances exponentially. I will undoubtedly remember this information, and come back to it when I am in college and am looking for these types of opportunities.
After Quinlyn’s portion of the presentation, Brooke took over. Brooke graduated from NDB in 2011, and is now a genetic counselor at Stanford. Her insights were more in the realm of what it means to be a genetic counselor, and how to become one. She talked about How diverse a field genetic counseling is, which I was not previously aware of.
One part of her presentation that I found the most fascinating was her work with one pair of sisters who had come to America as refugees. At their pediatrician appointments, the doctor learned that neither of them, at ages 16 and 20, had started their periods. This understandably caught the doctor’s attention, so he took a few tests, and eventually recommended them to genetic and endocrinology professionals. Eventually they found out that the girls had what is known as Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome. This means that each had XY chromosomes, but the receptors that receive androgen and tell the body to develop as male did not work, so the siblings developed as female.
I thought this was fascinating not only because I simply did not know it was possible, but also because of how much the case connects with what we have learned this year. Genetics is involved in the inheritance of this mutation that causes androgen insensitivity, and cell signaling, or the disruption of it, is responsible for the resulting disorder.
I have always found genetics very interesting, but had never really considered becoming a genetic counselor. Though this presentation may not have made me decide that genetic counseling is my passion and my future, it most definitely opened up my mind to consider more paths, and now that genetic counseling is on my radar, it is not likely to fall off anytime soon.
AP Biology 